Feeding mechanism for oranges and other articles.



PATENTED MAY 8, 1906.

BALLARD PEBDINGMEOHANISM FOR ORANGES AND OTHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION TILED DEC, 30, 1-904.

- '4 SHEETSSHEET l m r mag [Jan 5 APATENTED MAYB, 1506.

M. H. BALLARD. FEEDING B/IEOHANISIVI FOR ORANGES AND OTHERART-IGLES.

APPLICATION TILED 1130.30.190

4 SHEETS-SHEET Z I jfmsrz Z07 PAT ENTED MA? 8 M. H. BALLARD.- v TEEDING MECHANISM FOR ORANGES AND OTHER-ARTICLES.

APPLICATION TILED DEC. 30, 1904.

4 SHLiITS-SHEET 8.

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PATENITEID MAY 8, 1606f M. H. BALLARD. FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ORANGES AND OTHER ARTICLES.

APPLiGATION TILED DEO.30,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

lz/iiizessesk nurses s rafrns earner series- MlLTON H. BALLARD, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 TRIPP FRUlT WRAPPING MACHINE CQMPANY, GE LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS,

A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

no. ssaoe i.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 80, 1904. Serial 150. 239,055-

To all: whom it may concern: Be it known that .l, MILTON H. BALLARD, of Lynn, county of Essex, State of Itiassachusctts, havev invented an. improvement in m y needingldechanisni tor Oranges and other Articles, of which the following descript on, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

. This invention relates to machines for feeding oranges and other articles, and has for its object to construct a machine of large caacity having a large range of adjustment for oranges or other articles of different sizes. The invention consists in the combination with a declining chute made wide enough to deliver several oranges at a time, these being arranged in a row at the exit of the chute of a conveyer adapted to receive theorangcs taken from the declining chute a row at a time and for delivering the same to the conveyer.

The invention also consists in, certain means for removing the endmost orange from the row which supported by the conveyor; also, in means for preventing any of the oranges in the row supported bythe conveyor from being forced upward, a result otherwise liable to happen due to overcrowding; also, to prevent the next to the endmost orange of the row supported by the conveyer from becoming wedged between the rear edge of the litter and the front edge of the plate provided for preventing the oranges from rising in the row; also, in means for returning any surplus oranges from the conveyor to the declining chute if more oranges should be delivered to the con'veyer than can be accommoiinc herein shown is especially adapted ll 1' feeding oranges to a Wrapping machine; but this employment of my invention is merely for the sake of illustration, it is obvious th: ii may be put to other uses.

Figure 1 is a limit elevation of a machine for feeding oran and other articles embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional detail of the end por-' tion of the feeding-trough, taken on the dotted line 33, Fig. Figs. 4 and 5 are details of the movable side wall of the declining chute. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the machine shown in Fig. 1, taken on the dotted line 6 6. Fig. 7 IS a sectional detail of the extensi'ole bottom wall oi the declining chute.

Figs. 8, 9, and 18 are details of the rotating devicehetween the declining chute and conveyer. Fig. 11 is a vertical section of the machine shown in Fig. 1, taken on the dotted line 11 11. Figs. 12 and 13 are details of the support for the plate which is located above the feeding-trough.

The oranges which are to be fed to the wrapping-machine are dropped onto a declining chute having a declining bottom wall 400 and a fixed side Wall 401 and a movable side wall The side wall .492 has near its lower end a slotted car 403, through the slot of which a pin 404 passes, which is screwed into any oneof a series of holes 405 in the bottom wall, and said side wall has at its upper end a slotted ear 4%, which engages any part of a horizontal flange 407, projected from "an upright support 488, which is located at'thc upper end of the declining wall 400. The declini g chute is made wide enough to provide for the simultaneous pasof several oranges arranged side by side in a row, and at the lower end of said chute a rotating device is provided adapted to take the endmost row of oranges from the chute and deliver it to a traveling conveyer.

The rotating device consists of a shaft 410, having fixed to it two disks 412 at or near its opposite ends and several horizontal bars 413, attached at their ends to said disks, three such bars being herein shown located Patented May 8, 1906.

at equal distances apart, and said disks 412 each have radial slots 414, through which rods 41.5 freely pass, and said rods 415 extend heyondthe disks 412 and pass through curved slots 416, formed in disks 417, two in number, loosely mounted upon the shaft 410 just back of the disks 412, and the ends of said rods are screw-tlireadcd to receive upon them nuts 418. When the nuts are tightcried, the loose disks 417 are clamped against the fixed disks 412 and the rods 415 rigidly supported; but whenever said nuts are :00

are located in radial planes with the bars 413, and as they are movedin and out will occupy different distances from said bars.

The bars 413 and rods 415 together form the orange-engaging portions of the rotating device, and as the shaft bearing them revolves each orange-engaging portion will take the endmost rowof oranges from the chute and deliver it to a conveyer. Radial adjustinent ofthe bars415 is provided for the purpose of adaptingthe rotating device to pick off or remove the endmost row of oranges of different sizes. When the orange-engagin portions are adjusted radially for sma oranges-as, for instance, when the rods 415 are set quite close to the' bars-413-the lower edge of the bottom wall 400 will terminate too great a distance from said rods 415, if said wall was constructed to terminate close to the path of travel of said rods 415 when moved outward to accommodate the large oranges. Hence the lower end of the bottom wall is made extensible. 420 represents an extension-plate, which is attachedto a slotted plate 421, through the slot of-which passes a screw 422, which secures said plate to the bottom wall 400 and provides for its longitudinal movement. The shaft of the rotating device. has secured to it a sprocket-wheel 423, around which passes a sprocket-chain 424, which passes around a sprocket-wheel 425, secured to a shaft 426, bearing a worm-wheel 427, which engages a worm 428, secured to a driving-shaft u. The row of oranges taken from the declining chute passes by gravity from the rotating device onto a declining wall 429 and then down onto the movable conveyer.

The movable conveyer consists of several endless bands 430, passing over end rolls or pulleys 431 -432 and over a set of idle rolls 433, located between said end rolls, and the end roll 432 is located in a plane below the end roll 431, so that the row of oranges deposited on the conveyer will be moved in a declining plane chine. One of the end rolls-as 432 for in stance-is positively driven, and to accomplish this result a sprocket-wheel 434 is secured to the shaft of saidend roll, around to it a bevel-pinion n which passes a sprocket-chain 435, which also passes around a sprocket-wheel'436, secured to the shaft u.- The conveyer moves the oranges at right, angles to the movement given them by the declining chute. The shaft 11, has secured to it abevel-gear n,

which is engaged by a bevel-pinionn, se-' cured to an ob ique shaft 71?, having secured which engages a bevelgear n, secured to a riving-shaft f At the end of the frame supporting the movable conveyer a centering device 1s provided for the oranges, which is the same as shown in my a plication for Letters Patent No, 193,392,

ed February 13, 1904, and consists of a ring 267, having'a, set of depending arms u At ifter-arm 212 a 'pro ect1on 101 are attache toward the wrapping-ma screw for securing it to the post at each side of the movable conveyer an upright wiall- 440 is provided, so that said conveyer serves as the movable bottom wall of the trough'thus formed. At the lower end of said trough an end wall or shoulder 441 is provided, against which the endmost orange of the row strikes, and next to said shoulder a lifter is' rovided for lifting the endmost orange to the top of the shoulder, so that 'it will pass over the shoulder and then onto the centering device.

The lifter consists of a plate 100, having a r web 102 on 'its under side formed witha shoulder 445, and also having a web 446 on its under side formed with a toe 447 and said pla e is pivotally connected to the lifterarm 212 by 'apivot.103, passing through the web. The plate is adapted: to rock-on said ivot 103. On the upright 448 is formed, against which a shoulder 445 strikes iPQafiIflit the movement of the plate in one direction, and at the upper end of the shoulder 441 a ledge "449 is formed, against which the toe 447 strikes t'o 'rock the plate on its.pivot. The platewhen thus rocked assists the passage of the oran e over the shoulder. Arms the passage beneath the plate 100 and which assist in guiding the p ate in its vertical movement. Sometimes it happens that one of the oranges of the .row becomes superimposed on the others, plate 450-is disposed above the trough'con taining the row of oranges, said plate being made of any suitable wi th and length. The

forward end of the plate terminates near the lifter, and occaslonally the nextto the endmost orange is-crowded forward and tends to pass onto the lifter, and to obviate this and prevent it from becoming wedged between the rear edge of the lifter and'the forward ed e'of the late 450 said late is made movab e longitudinally. As erein shown, the

plate .450 is loose y connected to the extremities of apair of arms 451,projected-from.

hubs mounted upon, upright posts452,

from ears projectinggfrom one:- of the Side v -trough, ard upon said walls of the feedin upright postssuitab c it" ues are a ustabl secured adapted to support said hits at di portion of the.

to the web 102 which close and'to obviate this a loo ferentelevations and also to, provide for a limited movement only of the arms to there-:-

by determine the 'positi'oaoftheforwardend to the fear-edge Tof m5? Thisframe consists of a'collar the collar 454 and the lip seaoee 3 the frame. By loosening the adjustingscrew the collar may be raised or lowered on the post to thereby change the elevation of the plate, or said collar may be turned on the post and the depending por ion of the frame thereby moved about the post as a center, so that the edges thereof, which serve as limiting-stops for the arms, may occupy difi'erent positions, and the plate 450 be thereby held nearer to or farther from the rear edge f the lifter. A spring 453 is attached at one end to the rear end of said plate and at the other end to a pin projecting from the frame 454:, the action of which is to draw the plate forward until the arms or either of them strike one edge of said frame. If an orange should tend to wedge between the rear end of the litter and the front end of said plate, said plate is thrust roarwardly, and the lifter thereby relieved. The litter is operated intermittingly at regular intervals regardless of the size of the oranges, and the rotating device which conveys the oranges from the chute to the conveyor likewise operates to convey said oranges at regular intervals regardless of their size. Hence when feeding small oranges the trough will become overcrowded at times, notwithstanding the number taken from the chute at atime may be decreased by adjustment of the side walls,-

and in such event'the extra oranges will become superimposed upon those in the trough, and to provide for the removal of such superimposed oranges a declining trough 460 leads from one side of the feedetrough near its top, into which the superimposed oranges are free to escape. these oranges to the declining chute. Hence an endless conveyor 461 is located at the end of the machine, consisting of a belt having several orange-carriers 462 thereon, which is adapted to take the oranges from the lower end of said declining trough'etlO and deliver the'same to the declining chute. The lower end of the endless belt 461 passes around a pulley secured to a shaft 463, having a bevelgear 464 secured to it, which is en -aged by a bevel-gear 465, secured to a she t 466, to

which a sprocket-Wheel is secured, around which passes a sprocket-chain 467, which passes around a sprocket-wheel secured to the shaft u.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, the combination of a declining chute, a conveyor moving at right an les thereto, a rotating device at the lower on of said chute, next the conveyor, for removing, ;'the endmostrow of oranges from said chute and for delivering said row to aid conveyor,

and. means for removing the oranges from said conveyor singly, substantially as do scribed.

It is also designed to return 2. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, the combinatlon of a declining chute, a conveyor moving at right angles thereto, a rotating device at the lowercnd of other articles, the combination of a declining chute having an extensible bottom wall, a conveyor moving at right angles thereto, a rotating device at the lower end of said chute next the conveyor, having radially-adjustable orange-engaging portions, for removingthe endmost row of oranges iromsaid chute, and for delivering said row to said conveyor, and means'for removing the oranges from said conveyor singly, "substantially as doscribed. 1

i. In a mach ne i'or feeding oranges and other articles, the combination of a declining chute, a conveyor moving at right angles to the chute, a rotating device at the lower end of said chutejor successively removing the endmost row'bf oranges therefrom and for delivering said'row to said conveyor, a shoulder at the end of said conveyor, a lifter for lifting the endmost orange to the top of said shoulder, and means for operating said lifter, substantially as described.

5. In. a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, a trough having a shoulder at the end, a lifter for lifting the endmost orange of the row in the trough to the top of said shoulder, consisting of a rocking plate having a too, a ledge on the shoulder adapted to be engaged by said toe and an arm supporting said rocking plate, substantially as described.

1 6. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, a trough having a shoulder at the end, a lifter for lifting the endmost orange of the row in the trough to the top of said shoulder, consisting of a rocking plate having a too, a ledge on the shoulder adapted to be engaged by said too, means for limiting the descent of the rear end of said plate, and an arm supporting said rocking plate, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, a trough having a shoulder at the end, a lifter for lifting the endmost orange of-the row in the trough to the top of said shoulder, consisting of a rocking plate having a toe, a ledge on the shoulder adapted to be engaged by said too, arms extending downward beneath said plate, and an. arm supporting said rocking plate, substantially as described.

8. In a machine for feeding oranges and otherarticles, a trough having a shoulder at, the end. a litter for lifting the endmost orange I30 of the row to the top of said shoulder, means for 0 crating said lifter, a longitudinallymova leplate located above said trough, the frontend of which terminates near the lifter, substantially as described.

9. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, a trough having a shoulder at the end, a lifter for lifting the endmost orange of the row to the top of said shoulder, means for operating said lifter, a longitudinallymovable plate located above said trough, the front end of which terminates near said lifter, and means for varying the position of said plate relative to the lifter, substantially as described.

10. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, a trough having a shoulder at the end, a lifter for lifting the endnost orange of the row to the top of said shoulder, means for operating said lifter, a longitudinallymovable plate located above said trough, the front end of which terminates near said lifter, and means for varying the elevation of said plate above the trough, substantially as described.

11. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, a feeding-trough, a declining chute, means for delivering oranges from the chute to the feeding-trough, a declining trough leading from one side of said feedingtrough near its top, to receive the superimposed oranges and means for conveying the oranges from said declining trough to said declining chute, substantially as describedv 12. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, the combination of a decliningchute, made wide enough to provide for the simultaneous passage of several oranges, arranged side by side, in rows extending transversely across it, a conveyer moving at right angles thereto adapted to receive the oranges, a row at a time, means controlling the delivery of the oranges, a row at a time, from the chute to the conveyer and means controlling the delivery of the oranges from said conveyer singly, substantially as described.

13. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, the combination of a declining chute, made wide enough to provide for the simultaneous delivery of several oranges, arranged side by side in a row extending trans versely across it, a eonveyer adapted to receive the oranges, a row at a time, and means controlling the del very of the oranges, a row at a time, from the chute to the conveyer, substantially as described.

14. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, the combination of a declining chute, madewide enough to provide for the simultaneous delivery of several oranges, arranged side by side in a row extending transversely across it, a conveyor adapted to receive the oranges, a row at a time, and a ro-- tating device controlling the delivery of the oranges, a row at a time, from the chuteto the conveyer, substantially as described 15. In a machine for feeding oranges and other articles, the combination of a declining chute, made wide enough to provide for the simultaneousdelivery of several oranges, arranged side by side in a row extending transversely across it, a conveyer adapted to re ceive the oranges, a row at a time, and a retating" device adapted to receive the endmost row of oranges from said chute and to deliver the same to said conveyer, substantially as described,

In testimonywhereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

MILTON II. BAL-LARI).

Witnesses:

B. J. NOYEs, H. B. DAVIS. 

